Difference between revisions of "Protocyborg"

From Cyborg Anthropology
Jump to: navigation, search
Line 1: Line 1:
 
===Definition===
 
===Definition===
A protocyborg is a cyborg that "lacks full embodiment"<ref>Gray, Chris Hables, ed. The Cyborg Handbook. New York: Routledge, 1995. Pg. 14.</ref>. For instance, a human translator sitting at a typewriter could be considered a protocyborg.  
+
A protocyborg is defined by Chris Gray as a cyborg that "lacks full embodiment"<ref>Gray, Chris Hables, ed. The Cyborg Handbook. New York: Routledge, 1995. Pg. 14.</ref>. The prefix "proto" comes from Greek form of protos, or "first". <ref>Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary. Accessed 22 Sept 2012. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=proto-</ref>, meaning that protocyborg as a term would describe an early or first cyborg. From a modern standpoint, Steve Mann's early prosthesis was an attempt at an early cyborg model. Today, much of his capability is embedded into everyday cell phones and networks, making the modern industrial human subject fully embodied cyborgs. Though neither Mann or his collaborators do not have subdermal implants, their use of technology is extremely symbiotic and is very much a part of them. Their consciousness minds have extended to also include the prosthetics that are omnipresent on their bodies.
 
+
A draft of a cyborg. From a temporal standpoint, Steve Mann's early prosthesis was an attempt at an early cyborg model. Today, much of his capability is embedded into everyday cell phones and networks, making the modern industrial human subject fully embodied cyborgs.  
+
 
+
Kevin Warwick, who began to call himself the "world's first cyborg"<ref>Kevin Warwick's Home Page. http://www.kevinwarwick.com/icyborg.htm</ref> after implanting an RFID chip under his skin, could be an example of a Protocyborg, but there is not too much of a functional difference between getting an RFID chip in one's arm, or one in a cell phone, which people find that more palatable at times.
+
 
+
In reality, people like Steve Mann or Thad Starner are much more fully embodied as Cyborgs. Though they do not have sub dermal implants, their use of technology is extremely symbiotic and is very much a part of them. Their consciousness minds have extended to also include the prosthetics that are omnipresent on their bodies.  
+
  
 
==References==
 
==References==

Revision as of 19:22, 22 September 2012

Definition

A protocyborg is defined by Chris Gray as a cyborg that "lacks full embodiment"[1]. The prefix "proto" comes from Greek form of protos, or "first". [2], meaning that protocyborg as a term would describe an early or first cyborg. From a modern standpoint, Steve Mann's early prosthesis was an attempt at an early cyborg model. Today, much of his capability is embedded into everyday cell phones and networks, making the modern industrial human subject fully embodied cyborgs. Though neither Mann or his collaborators do not have subdermal implants, their use of technology is extremely symbiotic and is very much a part of them. Their consciousness minds have extended to also include the prosthetics that are omnipresent on their bodies.

References

  1. Gray, Chris Hables, ed. The Cyborg Handbook. New York: Routledge, 1995. Pg. 14.
  2. Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary. Accessed 22 Sept 2012. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=proto-